To Steal the Dawn
by Pandragonsbox
Summary: Stefan is dead and Maleficent has been reunited with her wings, but all is not well. In order to put right the many wrongs she has caused Maleficent is forced to let go of the one she loves, and place all of her trust on the shoulders of a young girl (Femslash)
1. Chapter 1

One

In the early hours before the dawn the moors were quiet. Maleficent stood at the edge of the cliff, upon the twisted roots of the great rowan tree, watching the sprawl of the moors beneath her. She felt strangely calm. The familiar warbles and hoots of the night birds had soothed away the adrenaline that had flooded her body and brought about a sense of peace. Far away, in the distant castle, everything was chaos. But here all was as it should be. Creatures hunted for food in the darkness, or snuffled through the undergrowth, or were sound asleep in their various dens. Maleficent was in desperate need of sleep herself. The night had been long and eventful; but although she was exhausted she would not rest. Not yet.

"They'll come after you,"

Maleficent turned. Diaval was standing several feet away, watching her. Her lips twisted into a small frown. She hadn't heard him approach.

"How long have you been standing there?"

Diaval shrugged, loose shirt sliding along his shoulders too reveal scars that gleamed white in the darkness. "Only a moment."

Although he had washed off the blood , dirt and ash that had previously coated his face, he still looked remarkably dishevelled. His hair was one great matted tangle and deep scratches marred the line of his jaw.

"Let me heal you," she said, her voice gentle. She should have healed him earlier, but she had been too distracted with Aurora.

Diaval grinned and reached up to run his fingers along the jagged wounds. "No thanks. These should scar nicely."

Maleficent rolled her eyes and turned her back on him. A second later she heard his heavy tread on the roots as he joined her.

"They won't let you steal their princess, you know."

Maleficent laughed softly "I didn't steal her."

"Yes but they don't know that."

"Should I have left her there? For them to lock up in a tower to 'protect' her?"

She directed her gaze back to the castle. Pinpricks of light still flickered about the dark facade, lighting up the windows like a multitude of flaming eyes. She imagined the men, bearing torches, running through halls and up narrow staircases, searching desperately for their princess. By now they must have discovered Stefan's body, lying broken on the cobblestones where she had left it. Were they grieved that their king was dead, or glad? Surely they would not mourn the madman who had neglected his kingdom to the point of ruin.

The ways of the mortals had always confused her. She had never understood the greed and the lies that poured from them like poison, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. The men took, and stole and conquered, with no thought to anything but their insatiable hunger. She knew every little about the women. From what she had seen, they tended to be weak; their spirits quenched by husbands and fathers who wanted only blind submission. Perhaps her curse had done some good. It had allowed Aurora to grow up free and strong, nurtured by the love of the moors and not the greed of men. If she had been left there, they would have locked Aurora up 'for her own good' and any talk of Maleficent or the moors would have been dismissed as insanity or hysteria. The humans may have corrupted her own heart, but Maleficent would never let them do the same to Aurora.

"Of course not," said Diaval. "But they will still come for her. And for revenge."

"Enough, Diaval. They will not come tonight – they have no leader, after all."

"But they will come soon," he persisted "And they won't be alone. Princes will come from all around to rescue her, if they think they have a chance of marriage.

Maleficent gave a short, breathy laugh. "My dear Diaval. What nonsense."

"I just don't want to have to save you again. Being a dragon's far too dangerous for my taste. Better than a dog, though."

"Do you ever stop complaining?"

"Not until you stop turning me into unnatural beasts."

"We'll see." She curled her lips into a brief smile and turned back to watch the castle, thinking. As loathe as she was to admit it, Diaval was right. They would be after her, and sooner rather than later. She knew better than to underestimate them. Perhaps a hero had already mustered a small army, ready to save the day. "Are you well enough to fly?"

"As long as it's not as a dragon again," Diaval said, with his customary grin.

"Go to the castle. See what you can find out. If they are planning an attack, I want to know."

"As you wish."

Amber mist swirled from her fingertips and Diaval dissolved into a dark flurry of wings. She watched as he soared away to be swallowed by the darkness. For the first time the sight of his flying did not make her heart twist in a twinge of envy. She smiled and ran her long fingers over the soft feathers of her wing. She could hardly believe that they were real. The longing to stretch them out and take the skies once again was almost more than she could bear. Her earlier flight had been too short and far too distracted for her to have been able to enjoy it as she would have liked. Now all that she wanted was an hour or two, with nothing but the sky, the clouds and her wings.

Instead, with a last, lingering look at the star strewn sky, she turned back to her tree and began to make her way carefully over the protruding roots.

With each step her wings dragged behind her, giving a small, half-forgotten tugging sensation. The weight of them was far greater than she remembered, and her shoulders ached at the unfamiliar strain. She felt off balance, liable to fall backwards at the smallest gust of wind. Her body would take a while to readjust to their presence, just as she had been forced to adjust to their absence. Still it worried her.

She eased herself onto the boughs of the bent and twisted tree with an unusual amount of care, ducking low beneath the branches so not to catch her horns. Her body felt awkward with the added weight and bulk of her wings. She had grown so accustomed to moving without them that she snagged them several times on the overhanging branches and grazed them painfully against the rough bark. She gritted her teeth in pure frustration.

Aurora was sleeping in the heart of the tree, between two heavy boughs, in a hammock made of vines and leaves. It was where Maleficent would sleep for the few hours each night that she allowed herself to. She eased herself onto one of the two supporting boughs, being careful not to disturb the hammock. It felt good to rest within the safety of her tree with her wings supported on the branches to alleviate the weight. She reached back and ran her fingers over the aching joint where her wings sprouted from her back. The place where the wings had fused back onto her body felt unnaturally hot, and she could feel the rough scars beneath her fingertips. It was sore and sensitive to the touch. Maleficent withdrew her hand.

_It will heal._ She told herself firmly. _It just needs time._

She couldn't believe anything else. It had to heal. The thought of getting her wings back, only for them to be permanently crippled was too much to bear. She drew the wings over her shoulders and around her body, cocooning herself in soft feathers. She sat like that for a long time, barely able to breathe through the potent mixture of relief and fear.

In her leafy bed, Aurora slept on peacefully. She was curled onto her side, facing away from Maleficent, legs drawn up beneath her skirts. Her golden hair, splayed over her face had turned silver in the moonlight, reminding Maleficent of freshly spun cobwebs. For as long as she watched, the girl didn't move, the only sign of life the soft, barely audible breaths. Maleficent didn't like it. The longer Aurora remained in this deep sleep, the greater her unease grew. She wanted to shake her, to ensure that this was only natural sleep and not a remnant of the curse. Absurd as it was, Maleficent could not make herself believe that, after 16 years, the curse had finally broken.

_It's natural sleep_. _A deep natural sleep, brought on by exhaustion. Nothing more._

She forced herself to look away from the sleeping girl and settled back onto the branches, allowing her heavy eyes to close. She needed to sleep desperately. Worrying about the curse had kept her awake for days now. Although as a faery she needed far less sleep than humans, this was still pushing the limits. But Aurora slept in her bed. For a moment her mind teased her with images of curling up behind the girl and stretching her wings over the two of them. She forced the thoughts away. She did not want to think about her feelings for Aurora. When she did she just became hopelessly confused.

Instead she found her mind wandering to Stefan. His dead and broken body sprawled out upon the cobblestones. Part of her wanted to feel something about his death. Anything. Sorrow for the boy she had once loved or triumph for the death of the man he had become. Instead she felt nothing. It was his ambition and her malice that had nearly destroyed Aurora. And now he was dead and she was alive, reunited with her wings and with the girl sleeping safely beside her. She was glad that he was dead, but she had not meant to kill him. She was not looking to explaining everything to Aurora.

"Where am I?"

Maleficent started, wings drawing back in surprise. Aurora was had rolled over and was peering up at her.

"This is my home. You're safe."

"How did I get here?" Aurora sat up, looking around curiously. Maleficent had never brought her here before, in spite of the girl's constants questions about where she lived. "The last thing I remember I was in the castle. There was fire and men everywhere. You were flying..." Aurora gasped. "Your wings…?"

Maleficent could not hide her smile as she spread her wings out proudly. Aurora looked at them with an expression close to awe. "They're beautiful," she breathed and began to reach up, but then quickly withdrew her hand. Maleficent stretched out a wing for the girl to touch. The sensation of a soft hand caressing her feathers was more pleasurable than she could have dreamed.

"Diaval carried us," she said when she could at last trust her voice not to shake. "You had fainted or been knocked unconscious. It was certainly a challenge, getting a dragon through a window."

"Us? Did you not fly?"

Maleficent eyes flitted down and in an involuntary protective gesture her wings curled back against her spine. A hard lump formed in her throat which she swallowed quickly before saying "I was exhausted. The net had sapped my strength. And...My wings are not as strong as they used to be. It'll take time for them to heal, for me to get used to flying again."

"But they will get better?"

"I don't know."

At once Aurora scrambled awkwardly to her knees and reached out to touch Maleficent's arm in a simple, comforting gesture. Once again Maleficent was stunned by just how deeply the girl could feel another's pain.

"I'm so sorry."

Maleficent's laugh was humourless. "You really are the strangest creature."

"What do you mean?"

"I cursed you to eternal sleep. I lied to you about it for months. And yet you still care?"

"Of course," Aurora said with a small shrug, as though this extreme empathy was normal. "You broke the curse somehow, didn't you? And when the soldiers came you tried to protect me."

Maleficent nodded. "But Aurora…When we last spoke, before the castle and the curse…You hated me."

Aurora shook her head, silver hair fanning out around her face. "I couldn't hate you. You are my dearest friend. You showed me the moors. You gave me the happiest moments of my life. I was just…hurt. I had found out that my entire life was a lie, and you….I didn't know what to think." Aurora looked down and Maleficent saw a tear escape her eye to slide down her pale cheek. "I still don't. I don't understand anything. Why did you curse me? And why did my father have your wings?"

"I'll tell you everything." Maleficent promised without hesitation. After all that she had done, she owed her that much at least. "The whole story. But not just yet. It's too long to tell now."

"Can I ask you one thing?"

"Anything."

Before Aurora could speak there was a loud squawk overheard. They both looked up to see Diaval shoot through the branches and land on the bough beside Maleficent. A moment later the bird became a man and Diaval shook the hair roughly from his face. "A fine mess we've caused," he said, perching more comfortably on the branch. "I went to the castle. To eavesdrop..."

"They didn't recognise you?"

"They had enough on their mind without worrying about a bird," he responded with a dismissive flap of his hand. "Most of the main hall has been destroyed and dozens of them have been wounded or killed. They found the body of the king and..."

Aurora gasped , sounding as though she had just been doused with icy water. Maleficent gave a small, annoyed sigh and glared at Diaval. "I had not told her yet."

"Ah," Diaval replied awkwardly. He suddenly became rather interested with the leaves above her head.

In a mirror of Aurora's previous gesture Maleficent leant forward and put a gentle hand on the girls shoulder. She was glad that she didn't flinch away. "I'm sorry."

"You…You killed him?"

"I tried to spare him but he gave me no choice. If I hadn't killed him, he would have killed me."

Aurora nodded, wide-eyed. For a long time she said nothing, just stared blankly at Maleficent. "I don't feel anything," she said eventually.

"It's understandable. You had only just met him."

Aurora sat back, brought her legs up to her chest and stared at her knees. Maleficent watched her for a moment before turning back to Diaval.

"What else did you hear, Diaval?"

"They're worried about the princess. They think you stole her to kill her, or for some other evil purpose."

"That's to be understood. Do they plan to attack?"

Diaval shrugged. "A few of the men mentioned it. Wanted to ride out and save the princess at once. I doubt that there'll be any real threat for a while."

"I will have to keep an eye on the wall." Maleficent said with a small sigh. Bringing Aurora here had put the moors in danger. She had known it would when she had grabbed her.

"You need to rest," Diaval responded.

"Later. I have no need for it now," She smiled at him, then turned back to Aurora. "Are you well?"

"Just overwhelmed," Aurora replied slowly. " I only found out yesterday that I had a father and now he's dead."

"I understand. But you mustn't feel guilty if you do not feel grief. You didn't know him. And if you had I doubt you would have liked him." Aurora did not respond, and in an effort to distract her Maleficent said "You wished to ask me something?"

Aurora blinked, a brief look of confusion flashing over her features. "Oh yes. How did you break the curse?"

Maleficent looked away. She had been hoping that particular question would not come up for a while, to give her time to think. She could feel the heavy weight of Diaval's eyes and the girls trusting stare. "I added a clause to the curse," she said slowly. "It was a gibe at your father. I said that 'true loves kiss' could break it, the idea being that he and I both knew that there was no such thing." She felt her lips twitch in a small humourless smile. "A few weeks ago I had tried to revoke the curse but it was too strong. I didn't know how else to save you..."

Maleficent broke off. She took a deep breath. She looked past the girl at the dark sky. She looked at Aurora, the girl to whom she had done so much wrong. "Diaval and I saw you with the boy - the prince. He was our only hope. We tried to get to the castle to prevent the curse, but we we're too late. So we brought the prince to you." She could feel Diaval's suspicious look. She was glad for the darkness that hid the tears that had begun to well in her eyes. "Diaval and I hid, while your aunts took the prince to you. He kissed you..."

"Maleficent..." Diaval began, but she ignored him.

"You didn't wake. Your aunts thought that he had failed and left with him..."

"Maleficent..." He sounded more urgent this time. Aurora looked at him in confusion.

"Hush, Diaval," she commanded, eyes not leaving those of the princess. "I stayed. I thought that I had lost you..." The quiver in her voice was audible. Maleficent could not disguise it. "But then you woke."

"Then, Philip is my true love?" Aurora asked. She looked confused, disbelieving.

"Yes," Maleficent whispered.

"Maleficent, you can't-"

"She needs to know the truth, Diaval," She turned to face him, and raised an eyebrow, challenging him to contradict her. She had never seen him so angry.

"We need to talk."

"What's going on?" Aurora glanced between them, looking thoroughly lost.

"Nothing. Diaval just thought it best that we did not tell you. He feared it would be too much for you to take in. We'll be back in a moment, princess."

Maleficent got to her feet, momentarily caught off balance by the weight of her wings on her shoulders. It was comforting, the brush of the feathers against her back. She smiled at Aurora, who was watching her still, looking terribly confused.

Diaval was waiting for her at the edge of the trees. She ignored him, and walked deeper into the forest. She would not risk the princess overhearing them.

"Well?" She asked, turning back to face him when she was content that they were far enough away.

"Why?" He asked angrily.

"I've caused her enough pain."

"So you lie to her? And about something this important..."

"She deserves to be happy, Diaval. She deserves to fall in love with a prince and live happily."

"He's not her true love."

"And what, I am?" Maleficent laughed bitterly.

"You broke the curse."

Maleficent shook her head. "I will not allow my feelings to get in the way of her happiness. I will always protect her, with my life if need be, but it can be nothing else. She deserves better."

"Better than someone who risks everything for her?"

"Better than someone who used her as a means for revenge. Better than someone who lied to her for months."

Diaval tried to argue, but Maleficent interrupted him. "I will hear no more. This is the end of it, you hear me? She never need know the truth. She will marry the prince and she will be happy. She will be happy without me. If you tell her, I will turn you into a dog and leave you in that form forever. Now leave me. Go to Aurora. Tell her I needed to rest."

Diaval did not move. He stared at her, his expression a mixture of disappointment and anger. Then he turned and walked away.

She watched him go. Her legs shook, and all the remaining energy seemed to have drained from her body. She lowered herself to the cold ground, wings wrapping around her body and hiding her from the world.


	2. Chapter 2

Two

Aurora was waiting for her on the river bank, beneath the canopy of the willow tree. Maleficent cast a last, lingering look at the sky and then glided down to meet her.

In the warm early afternoon sunshine the valley was alive with activity. Water sprites were clustered on the river, diving into the foaming water at the base of the waterfall and letting it carry them down the stream. Their chaotic, high pitched chatter could be heard high into the air. There were goblins, playing on the edge of the woods, clustered about something she could not see, and a group of cheeps were arguing noisily. The very air seemed to buzz. The moor had not been this alive in a long time and Maleficent could not help but notice that wherever Aurora went, the creatures tended to follow. They were as trusting of Aurora as they were wary of her.

Her arrival caused a stir. She landed in the clearing, right in the very centre of the activity, and at once she felt the current of uncertainty that swept through the creatures. In the years since she had lost her wings they had grown to fear her, and the easy trust that had once existed between them was long gone.

Slowly she walked over to the goblins, who stopped their play and stood back to watch her approach, all of them shuffling to try and get behind each other. When she was several feet away she stopped and bent down. She brought a handful of acorns out from her pocket and gently offered them to the goblins. The glanced at each other uneasily before one of them worked up the courage to step forward and take the acorns from her. Maleficent curved her hand over her sternum and inclined her head, in the old sign of respect. When they tried to return the gesture she held out a hand for them to stop and shook her head. She spoke softly in the language of the moors, a strange mellifluous language that sounded almost like song. "I have wronged you," she said. "and am in your debt." She had spoken the words many times in the past several days, and would continue to say them for a long time to come.

She got back to her feet, leaning on her staff more out of habit that necessity, turned, and walked away. The evil that had touched the moors had been brought by her. The creatures were not supposed to be enslaved; it was part of their very nature to be free. Her anger had forced yolks around their necks and she would be their servant until she had righted that wrong.

"How was it?" Aurora called eagerly as Maleficent approached the willow tree. She asked the same question after every flight, and Maleficent's response was always the same.

"Wonderful," Maleficent swept aside the trailing leaves of the willow to duck beneath them. "The winds were cool, and the sky more blue than you could ever imagine. I went above the clouds and there was nothing but endless sky and sunlight."

"I wish I had wings," Aurora replied wistfully. She was lying on her stomach beside the river, trailing a finger idly through the water. Her hair was wet, and her dress splashed with water. Maleficent guessed that she had been playing with the sprites "I would never come back down to the ground!"

"Sometimes I wish I could stay up there forever," Maleficent smiled.

"Does it still hurt?"

"A little. It's getting easier."

The healing process was rapid, but not nearly as rapid as Maleficent would have liked. Her shoulders hurt constantly with the unfamiliar weight, the pain growing worse after each flight as the muscles strained to adapt. In the three days since their escape from the castle Maleficent had flown almost constantly. Partly because, as she had said, she wanted nothing more than to remain above the clouds forever, feeling the sunlight and the wind, revelling in the return of something she had thought that she had lost forever. The other reason was that she wanted her wings back to peak condition as soon as possible, and the best way to do that was to exercise them. Already the old wound was healed, the scar tissue so faint that it was almost impossible to detect. Although it still pained her, she was hopeful that within several weeks it would be as though she and her wings had never been parted.

"I got you something." Maleficent withdrew a small purse from the folds of her dress and untied it. "I found them by the brook." Carefully she handed them to Aurora and settled herself against the base of the tree to watch as the girl pulled open the pouch and made a small noise of delight.

"Where did you get them? I thought that they had gone out of season!"

"They have," Maleficent replied, smiling to herself. "The moors have many secrets."

She did not say that she had spent the past three days coaxing the blackberry bush into yielding its fruits early, or that she had had to endure the sprites constant nagging about disrupting the balance. It was worth it. Instead she just hitched her dress up to her knees and dipped her feet into the cool river.

"Do you know them all, godmother?" Aurora asked. "The moors secrets?"

"Not half of them," Maleficent laughed. Only a human could ask such a question. "I don't wish to. And how many times must I ask you not to call me that?"

Aurora raised herself onto her knees and shuffled towards her. She dipped her hand into the pouch and pulled out a blackberry, offering it to Maleficent, who took it with a small smile of thanks. They were not as sweet as the naturally grown ones, not as good. But Aurora didn't seem to mind as she settled back on her heels and popped one into her mouth. Maleficent closed her eyes and rested her head back against the rough bark, unable to stop herself from smiling at the simple delight of having pleased the girl.

"Tell me one. A secret."

Maleficent raised an eyebrow without opening her eyes. "I have never told a human the secrets of the moors."

"Not one?"

"Never."

"Oh." The word exuded disappointment.

Maleficent opened her eyes and then asked playfully "What will you give me in exchange?"

Aurora's brow furrowed in surprise. She looked at Maleficent for a moment and then dropped her eyes to her lap, evidently thinking hard. When she looked back up again she was grinning. She held out the pouch and said "Blackberries?"

Maleficent laughed so loudly that the nearby water sprites turned in surprise. They slid over the river, chattering noisily amongst themselves, to flit about the two of them in curiosity. They only left when Maleficent shooed them gently away. "You'll trade me my own blackberries?" She flicked her foot forwards, sending an arch of water splashing over the girl. Aurora shrieked and reached down to plunge her hand into the river. "Don't you dare."

Aurora hesitated, hand still in the water, watching Maleficent with narrowed eyes. Maleficent raised a challenging eyebrow. Slowly, and with obvious reluctance, Aurora withdrew her hand. "Fine then. What do you want in exchange?"

"A secret."

"That's not fair!" Aurora exclaimed.

"And why not?"

"Because my secrets are personal. Yours are just about the moors…"

"Just about the moors? No human has ever known their secrets, and yet I am willing to trade them."

"I do. Some of them as least."

Maleficent smiled. A strange sensation slid through her, like heat. "Yes. I suppose you do."

There was a long, heavy pause. Maleficent pretended to watch the sprites at their play, whilst really watching Aurora. The girl had stopped eating, the pouch dropped onto her lap. She too was watching the sprites play, but with an unnatural intensity. "I'm scared." She said eventually "That's my secret."

Maleficent hesitated, and then asked "Of what?"

"Everything. I'm scared of what might happen. Being a princess. Becoming queen. Of the moors being attacked, and there being nothing I can do. Of you being hurt. Of marrying Phillip. Of finding out the truth about everything….Of you…"

"Me?"

Aurora nodded. Maleficent looked away. She felt as though the heat that had just been seeping through her had suddenly turned to ice.

"Because of the curse?" Her treacherous voice broke midway through the sentence, and Maleficent grimaced. She loathed such obvious displays of emotions.

Aurora nodded again.

"I won't hurt you, Aurora. I would rather die…"

"I know that but it makes no sense… I just….Everything feels so confused."

Gently, Maleficent reached out and touched her arm. She was grateful when Aurora didn't flinch away.

"You can ask me, Aurora. I know that you've wanted to for the last few days."

"I don't want to upset you,"

"You won't,"

"Then, tell me." She looked at Maleficent, face set in a determined line. There were tears in her eyes. "Tell me everything."

Maleficent shifted against the base of the tree. "Come here," she said softly. Aurora hesitated and then half crawled, half shuffled to kneel in front of her. Maleficent took her hand and gently eased the girl over to sit beside her against the tree. She unfurled her wings, wincing as one of the feathers caught on the bark, and, slowly she curled a wing around Aurora's shoulders. Aurora smiled. She settled back and pulled on it gently so that it wrapped around her and curled onto her lap. Idly she began to stroke the feathers.

"My parents died when I was very young – in the war against the humans-"

Maleficent had never told anyone of her childhood before. Stefan had known a little about it, but from Aurora she hid nothing. Most importantly, she did not have to hide her love of the moors. When she spoke of the trolls and the pixies and the sprites Aurora knew. Aurora knew what it was like to watch the sunset from her tree. She knew how it felt to nurse a faun, or to watch birds learn to fly. Maleficent did not have to hide herself. When she came to Stefan, Maleficent tried to explain her strange feelings for the boy that she herself had not understood. He was the only human she had ever seen, and the only being that looked anything like her, and so had held a strange attraction. That he had been kind had only strengthened it. She spoke of the hurt she had felt when he had first left her to join the humans. It had stung, but it had not been unexpected, and she now knew it to be nothing like the agony of heartbreak. But then he had come back. Here, Maleficent hesitated. The horror of it was too extreme, and she was aware that she was telling the girl about her father, the man who had brought her into existence. But once she started the words poured out.

"I had been naïve. I underestimated him. The people of the moors don't lie. I doubt that many of them would know how. So when Stefan came back and begged for my forgiveness I believed him without a thought. We talked, like we had done so many years before and I thought that he was truly sorry. After all, why would anyone lie to the one they claimed to love?"

"But I forgot that he was human, and had been tainted by their greed. He gave me drugged wine. The last thing I remember was sitting beside him and then…"

Her voice broke. She felt hot tears scald her eyelids when she tried to blink them away. Her stomach twisted violently and the join of her wings ached with a deep sympathetic pain. The ordeal had haunted her dreams for 17 years now, and in that time she had not spoken of it to a single soul.

"There was pain. Agony, worse than anything I had ever known. It obliterated everything. And then…I felt cold. Empty. I knew that something was missing, the weight of my wings was gone." The tears came before she could stop them. She turned to look at the river and fought to keep her voice steady. "My wings. My precious wings. I could never have imagined myself without them. I used to pity the humans that they could not fly. My wings were myself. They were who I was. And they had been torn from me…."

It was then she noticed Aurora. She had been so taken with her grief she had not felt it when the small body beside her had begun to tremble. Maleficent looked around. Aurora had drawn her knees up to her chest, arms wrapped around them, mostly hidden in the shelter of the wings. She had turned her face away and was sobbing silently into the soft feathers, clutching at them so tightly that it hurt.

"Aurora…" She said gently. She touched the girl's hair. Aurora turned and melted against her side, flinging an arm around her waist, sobbing into her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," She managed to choke out. "I'm so sorry."

"It's hardly your fault, Aurora." She held the girl to her and waited for her sobs to die out, forcing her own eyes to remain dry. Eventually she stopped trembling and Aurora looked up at her, eyes still glistening with tears.

"My father became king because he took your wings, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"Then I was born because of what you lost."

"Yes. That…That was partly why I hated you so much. Stefan took the most precious thing I had, and from it he got a crown, a wife, and you. And I had nothing. Only my revenge."

"I understand."

"I hope you don't, Aurora. I sincerely hope that you never understand that much pain, that much hatred."

"I'm sorry that you had to,"

"As am I."

Aurora nestled against her side. Maleficent felt her take several, deep breaths before she said "Can you tell me the rest?"

"If you're sure…?"

"I need to know."

And so Maleficent continued. She told the truth about everything but the kiss. Afterwards they sat in silence for a long time.

Eventually it was Aurora who spoke "I forgive you,"

"What?"

"You said that what you did was unforgiveable, and that you would not ask my forgiveness. You don't need to. I forgive you."

"Thank you," said Maleficent quietly. "Do you feel better now?"

"A little. I'm glad I know the truth,,,"

"But?"

"It's just so confusing. My father hurt you, and I exist because of that hurt. Then you hated me, and cursed me, and now you are the one person in this world who I trust."

"It'll take time for you to come to terms with everything."

Aurora nodded. After a moment she said with forced joviality "So where's my secret then?"

Maleficent made a noise of soft indignation. "I told you my life's story! Was that not enough?"

Aurora laughed and jabbed gently at Maleficent's ribs. "You promised."

"Well who am I to refuse a princess?" Maleficent smiled, looking down at her fondly. "But I'd rather show you than tell you."

"Alright,"

"You will have to wait for nightfall."

"Give me a hint."

"It'll spoil the surprise. You'll just have to be patient."

"Fine." Aurora wriggled down beside her, nestling into the crook of her wing and popped a blackberry into her mouth. For a long time they sat like that, in companionable silence. Every so often Aurora would reach up and place a blackberry by Maleficent's lips for her to take. The first time the girl had done it Maleficent had started and looked down at her in confusion She was unused to the intimate gesture that Aurora had done with such ease, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Am I queen?" Aurora asked eventually.

"I'm not sure. I don't know much about human politics. I should think that you would have to be crowned officially first,"

"But I will be queen?"

"Only if you want to."

"You mean I have a choice?"

"There's always a choice, Aurora. And remember that you have me to help you."

"I want to live in the moors with you."

"If that is your wish."

She heard Aurora's breathe catch, and the girl asked, "You would let me?"

"I would be honoured to have you."

Aurora considered for a moment.

"They're going to come for me, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Then my being here threatens the moors?"

"I can protect you. I have protected the moors all my life."

"And you can hold them off?"

"If I have to,"

Aurora must have heard the hesitation in her voice, for she asked "What is it?"

Maleficent sighed. "I have pushed the humans too far. They see me as a danger, a constant threat. I doubt that they will rest until I am dead and you are safely back in their clutches."

"If I go back I could stop them, couldn't I?"

"Maybe," she answered reluctantly. "But it would be difficult; they will not want to listen. If you try to defend me they will think that I have you under some spell. They will never trust me, no matter what,"

"I suppose that I have to try."

"Aurora…You are the one person in the world who has a hope of uniting the kingdoms. I don't want to put any more pressure on you, but you need to know what's at stake."

Aurora said nothing. For a long time they sat together, eating blackberries and watching the water sprites and the various creatures that came to play in the water. At least Aurora watched them. Maleficent spent the time deep in her thoughts, worrying about what might happen, or watching Aurora smiling. She felt hyper aware of the girl's body, pressed tight against her and the way her fingers stroked her wing. She had not felt this closeness in many years, and she had not realised just how much she missed it.

It was a few hours past noon when they were interrupted by Diaval. The harsh sound of his caw preceded him, and a moment later he crashed through the branches to flap infuriatingly around them. When he eventually decided to land, Maleficent turned him human.

"Mistress," he said, quickly. "I've been keeping an eye on the wall and…"

He paused as he saw them, sitting close together within the protective fold of her wings.

"My apologies," he said with a deep grin "I didn't realise I was interrupting…"

"It's fine Diaval," Maleficent said quickly with a brief warning look. "What is it?"

"Like I said, I've been watching the wall. About half an hour ago I thought I saw something in the distance so went and had a look. There's a bloody great army heading towards us."

"I see." Although she had known that their current peace could not possibly last, she nevertheless felt her heart drop. Maleficent carefully pulled her wing from around Aurora's shoulders and stood up. "Can you find your way back to my tree by yourself?" She asked her.

Aurora looked up at her in confusion "What?"

"I want you to go and wait in my tree. You'll be safe there and once…"

"No!" Aurora said indignantly, scrambling to her feet. "I want to go with you!"

"It's too dangerous,"

"They aren't going to hurt me…"

"No, but if they believe you've been cursed again, they will kidnap you 'for your own good'. I will not risk…"

"I want to help you!"

"The girl's right." Diaval interrupted. "Besides, it might help if they could see that she's safe and sound."

"No!" She rounded on him angrily, glaring "I will not…"

"I'm coming," Aurora said simply. She raised her chin and fixed Maleficent with a defiant stare. "If I am to be queen then I cannot shy away from this. You said that I am the only one who can unite the kingdoms, now let me try!"

Maleficent raised an eyebrow in surprise but said nothing. She looked at Aurora's defiant face. As loathe as she was to admit it, she knew that Aurora was right. "Very well." She agreed. "As long as you swear to me you will not take any unnecessary risks."

"I swear that I won't take any _unnecessary _risks,"

Diaval laughed loudly. "She's your god daughter alright."

Maleficent didn't even bother to glare at him. Instead she just said softly, "Then so be it,"

She flicked her fingers at Diaval, turning him back into a raven. "I'll meet you at the wall,"

He circled about them for a moment and then flew off.

"Come here, Aurora," Maleficent said. Aurora did as she was bid, stopping just in front of her. "I would not have chosen this for our first flight together," She said softly. A flutter of delight passed across Aurora's face.

"You mean I can fly with you?"

"Yes. I had been saving it until I was stronger. I wanted to take you beyond the clouds to watch the dawn with me." Aurora made a small noise of excitement "Another time. Now hold me tight."

Maleficent opened her arms and Aurora walked into them, wrapping her own arms around Maleficent's waist.

"Don't let go." She said.

With a flap of the powerful wings, they were off.

Flying with Aurora was harder than she had anticipated. Although the girl was light, her wings were still sore from the previous flight and from the intense exercise of the last few days. The muscles strained to keep them aloft, and she was not able to go as fast as she would have liked. Aurora pressed her face tight into Maleficent's body and every so often gave little gasps or shrieks. Whether they were from fear or pleasure Maleficent couldn't tell. Before long, Aurora had wrapped not only her arms but her legs around Maleficent, and held so tightly that she feared that her dress would rip. That would certainly be a sight for the approaching army.

"Relax," she told the girl more than once. "I have you."

Aurora did not respond. Maleficent wished that she could have given more thought to Aurora's comfort, to make the experience of the first flight more pleasurable to the girl. Instead she was forced to focus on keeping them aloft, despite the growing pain.

Fortunately the flight was not a long one. Within a few minutes they had reached the wall of thorns. The army had come to a stop on before it, as though waiting for her. Maleficent descended slowly, landing on the large stone, before the awaiting army. Gently she pushed Aurora away, eyes on the lines of men who watched them. "Stay behind me," she said softly "And whatever happens, remember that nothing is as important to me as your freedom."


	3. Chapter 3

Three

There were thousands of them. Line after line of glittering armour stretched back as far as the eye could see to meld with the distant horizon, solid formation broken only by the harsh wooden exoskeletons of the catapults. Maleficent felt her skin crawl unpleasantly. No doubt they had brought every scrap of iron to be had with them. Vividly she remembered the agony of the iron net, and the terrible sensation of having her powers drained from her, leaving only weakness and confusion. Stefan had had 16 years to prepare, and even without him they were ready for her.

At the front of the lines were the nobles, those who had sat on Stefan's war councils and ran his country whilst he was lost to madness. Some were old and frail, and looked as though a gust of wind could blow them to dust; others looked only several years older than Aurora. She wondered which of them she truly needed to fear.

"There are so many…" Aurora said awestruck. She had shielded herself behind Maleficent's outstretched wing and was clutching at it so hard that it hurt.

"They must have drafted in the peasants," Maleficent said uncertainly. "That's the only way they could possibly have got so many men…" Either way it did not bode well for her. Having amassed so large an army their aim was surely more than the retrieval of the princess. They wanted her head.

"What do we do?"

"Stay in their sight," Maleficent replied reluctantly. "If they know that you're here, then they won't risk attacking me." She loathed the thought of using the girl as a shield, but it was her best option. Although she wanted desperately to carry Aurora back to the safety of her tree, she could not forget that the girl was her only hope. She was the only person in this world who could end the war and save the moors.

"Will you fight them?"

"If I have to. But there are too many, and my wings…."

"Give us the princess!"

One of the nobles, a middle aged man with an auburn beard frosted with white, had ridden forward several paces and now sat proudly in the saddle, staring hard at her. Maleficent ignored him.

"I cannot take down an entire army…"

"But the creatures? You said that they fought with you before?"

Maleficent shook her head. "I will not risk their lives." This was her fight. She had brought the army here and it was she alone that bore responsibility for its wrath. She had inflicted enough pain on the moors and had no right to ask them for anything. She drew herself up to full height, pulling her wings up against her shoulders.

"Leave!"

"We have come to claim back our princess and our lands…!"

"_Your _princess?" Maleficent hissed angrily "_Your _lands?"

Anger coiled within her stomach, so tight that she could barely breathe. Greed and arrogance. Ambition and vanity. The humans came and they stole. They destroyed. What they could not get by brute force they got through deceit. The gluttony of humans had taken everything from her, and still they came for more.

"You shall have nothing more from me! Not while I still breathe."

"That will not be for long." He smiled and the sound of laughter ran across the field. Cruel. Bloodthirsty. These were creatures who thrived on war and death.

"Oh? Really? You would risk the life of your future queen? Spare me your threats!"

"Better dead than in the clutches of a creature such as you!"

For the first time Maleficent faltered. Of course. She had underestimated the humans again. After all, when the old king had died without an heir they had got a new one easily enough. Aurora was expendable to them. They would save her if they could, but should it prove impossible they would rather have a dead witch than a live princess.

"Go," she said softly. She turned to Aurora to see the girl looking fearfully up at her. "I will not risk your life. Go."

"But they'll attack you…."

"They'll attack me anyway. I will not have you here when that happens."

"I won't leave you!"

"You are no use to me here, Aurora!" Maleficent said desperately. She saw her flinch. "If you are with me then I have to focus on protecting you. Your use is in diplomacy. Not in war."

Aurora hesitated. She looked out at the vast army, then back to Maleficent. "Don't fight them, then. I'll talk to them, make them understand. But they won't listen to me if you're killing them."

"As you wish." Maleficent whispered. She had tried it her way and brought chaos. What choice did she have now but to trust in Aurora? "Go to them. But remember that you are their queen. They are your subjects. And you are far stronger than you, or any one of them could imagine."

Aurora touched her arm gently. She smiled and in the smile Maleficent saw a thousand unspoken things. Worry. Concern. Love. A desperate plea for Maleficent to trust in her. Maleficent nodded stiffly back, and watched in terror as the one she loved most in the world left her side and began to walk towards the army.

When they saw the princess begin to approach the men looked at each other in confusion. Several of them bent their heads together, no doubt hurriedly conferring as to why the witch would allow her prize to escape. Maleficent spared them no more than a glance. Her attention was focused on Aurora, who had never seemed so small or so fragile. With every step she took, Maleficent's fear grew, until it was all that she could do to remain still and not fly to the her side.

When Aurora was perhaps 20 feet away she finally came to a stop. She was too far away for Maleficent to even hope of reaching her, but that did not stop her wings from twitching with the desperate urge to fly. Slowly the girl dipped into a deep curtsey. Once again the men exchanged glances, and then the spokesman put his hand on his sternum and bent forward in a half bow.

"Princess. I am Lord James. I was your father's chief advisor."

"It is an honour, sir." Aurora replied. Her voice sounded so fragile that even with her heightened hearing Maleficent could only just catch her words.

"Have you been harmed?"

"No. She would never-"

"I'm glad to hear it. Come with me, quickly." He leant down slightly, extending his hand to her. "I'll get you to safety."

"No. You don't understand-"

"Princess, please. You are safe now. She cannot hurt you anymore. I want to take you home."

"No…"

But the man would not listen. Ignoring her protests he spurred his horse on towards her and shouted. "Kill the witch!"

Aurora's protests were drowned out by the sudden clamour of thousands of shouts, the bleating of horns and clanging of armour clad men. Before Maleficent could react the catapults shot upwards and fire streamed across the sky. They came in one great, endless wave. The sky was blotted out by arrows. Quickly Maleficent raised her hand, gold light erupted from it, pounding out across the sky to meet the hail of arrows. The fireballs hit the wall with a terrible noise. Maleficent glanced round. The wall was burning. The fires needed to be quenched before they could do too much damage…

"No! No! Maleficent!"

Maleficent was in the air in seconds, shooting upwards before she could consider her actions. Aurora needed her. In the distance she could see two men wrestling to get the flailing girl onto the back of a horse, desperate to get her out of the army's way.

"No! Maleficent!"

Maleficent barely made it halfway into the air. The arrows slammed into her, before she had even noticed them, tearing at her clothes, puncturing her wings and driving her back to the ground with more force than she could have imagined possible. Everything was a terrible, burning agony, pain so vast it seemed endless. She hit the ground before she realised that she had been falling.

For a second she lay there, stunned, the ground pounding beneath her with the momentum of thousands of men. The screams brought her back – terrible desperate screams. By the time she could manage to ease herself into a crouch Aurora was gone, swept away by the never ending sea of men. All that was left was her slowly dwindling cries. Maleficent snarled. She forced herself to ignore the agony in her wings and launched herself into the air, shooting upwards with as much speed as she could muster, desperate to get above the reach of the arrows. Several managed to strike her before she was high enough, dodging through the magical barrier she hastily erected. She screamed as one caught her leg.

Everything was pain and confusion and noise. She could not see Aurora anywhere. She was far beyond her reach, and there were now 5,000 men between her and the girl. With a small noise of despair she tore her eyes away. Arrows shot up, none of them able to reach her. Men were pouring towards the wall of thorns, brandishing swords and spears and spears and axes/

How she longed to kill them.

It didn't matter if she could not kill them all. She could kill enough. Tear the bastards to shreds for daring to threaten her home and get between her and Aurora. But that was not what Aurora wanted. And this war was no longer hers to orchestrate. The pain in her wings was nothing to the pain of turning her back on the screams and diving behind the safety of the wall, leaving the girl to fend for herself.

They were waiting for her. Diaval flapped frantically around her head the minute she landed, cawing in distress. Balthazar, Memnoch and the other guardians stood half hidden amongst the trees, waiting for her orders.

"Do not attack them!" She ordered as she crashed to the ground.

Memnoch gave a roar of anger while Balthazar strode forward, arguing.

"You heard me!" She snarled furiously. She had fallen into an undignified heap, legs useless, wings nothing but pain. "We are doing this Aurora's way and she has ordered that we do not attack the humans. Defend the wall, do not let them through, but do not kill them unless you have no other choice."

Balthazar starred at her for a long moment. She met his gaze, unwavering, daring him to challenge her. After a moment he nodded, and the guardians strode off to defend the wall.

"Into a man," she said, without looking up. Her attention was focused on her wounds. The arrows were all iron, of course. She could feel them burning into her flesh.

"The princess…"

"Don't start, Diaval! I have no time for your tongue. Help me get these damn things out of me so I can defend the wall." She was shaking, entire body shuddering uncontrollably. She ran her hands over the wounds, and by the time she began to pull the arrows from her body her hands were slick with dark blood.

For a moment Diaval did nothing. Then, with obvious displeasure, he began to carefully inspect the wound on her leg.

Maleficent was not gentle with herself. Many of the arrows that had pierced her wings had stuck fast in the feathers. Each one she pulled it out without regard to the pain, gritting her teeth to swallow the screams.

"What are you doing, Diaval!" She spat, when he had spent several minutes prodding her leg. "Get the damn thing out."

"You need to rest," he replied disapprovingly.

"There are 5,000 men out there who want my head. Now is not the time for a nap!"

She yanked an arrow out from her ribs and could not contain the scream.

Thankfully faeries heal fast. Once the arrows were pulled from her, the flesh began to heal itself almost instantaneously. Though she felt weak, and every single movement hurt she could at least fly without bleeding to death.

She spent what remained of the day soaring back and forth over the wall, healing where healing was needed, and fortifying where it seemed they would break through. The only time she attacked was to take down the catapults. After several hours, they were nothing but splintered heaps of wood, and the men had nothing but their swords and axes and whatever arrows remained to them. She tried to keep out of the arrows reach, and was often able to deflect any that would have reached her. Still a good many managed to hit when she was invariably distracted, and with every wound her body was forced to heal, she felt herself grow weaker.

Night fell eventually and the ground became a sea of fire. It took all of her effort to prevent the wall from catching. She would be defending one section, only to realise that another was in desperate need of aid. And always she was careful not to allow herself to harm them. The anger festered in her stomach, poisoning her and still she did not strike against the men who threatened her home. She thought of Aurora often, but the thoughts were fleeting. Before she could worry for more than a heartbeat she was called to help defend another section of the wall.

The next morning brought more catapults and more arrows. Once, when she finally descended, riddled with arrows, Diaval joked that she would soon have far more feathers than he had ever had. She had bit her tongue to prevent herself from taking out her anger on him.

The second day wore on in pain and exhaustion. The humans were a determined race. Although they could not gain any ground, and never once broke through the wall, they nevertheless persisted. Perhaps the lack of aggression spurred them on. Maleficent timed the hours in beats of her wing and jolts of pain. There was nothing else. By the end of the second day she could think of nothing. Everything was pain and exhaustion. Even if she had wanted to attack, she doubted that she had the strength for it. All she could do was hope that the girl would save her once again.

They did not stop until the end of the third day. When the horns sounded and the cry of 'retreat' swept through the lines she did not believe it. She lingered in the air, wings straining to keep her aloft, entire body in the agony of exhaustion. Only when they disappeared over the horizon and the last of the daylight vanished did she allow herself to fall to the earth.

Agony. She did not know how many wounds still remained, or whether arrows still feathered her body. Exhaustion. She could not remember the last time she had slept, or rested for more than a moment. Starvation. She remembered when she had last eaten. It was when Aurora had pressed blackberries to her lips, smiling. Maleficent could not even bring herself to worry about the girl. It must have been her who recalled the army. She could believe nothing else.

For a long while she lay on the ground, beside the wall, listening to the silence. She would not sleep until she was safely in her tree, but without the adrenaline that had fuelled her for the past three days she didn't have the strength.

Eventually Diaval found her.

"Mistress!" He called through the trees. "Mistress!"

"Diaval," she said simply. The stars crawled over the sky. The ground swayed. The air smelt of smoke and fire. She felt Diaval beside her, one hand on her shoulder, another gently wiping something from her cheek.

"What do you need?" He asked.

Maleficent laughed and replied "Legs."

The earth spun as he walked. Every time her wings scraped against the ground he would apologise. She barely noticed. She could barely feel his arms, or his rhythmic footsteps that sent strangely distant jolts down her body.

When he put her down in boughs of the tree she curled onto her side, drawing her wings over her face to hide her from everything.

"Thank you," she said softly.

She thought that she heard him reply, but the words were lost as she spiralled down into a deep sleep.

* * *

Aurora could not see the fighting from her bedroom window, but she could see the smoke. Every so often a black speck would appear in the sky, and Aurora would peer frantically at it, trying desperately to see whether it was Maleficent. The speck was always too far. It could have been a sparrow for all she knew.

She had begged them to stop. Over and over again she had begged them. They insisted that she was confused, that she was 'under the witches spell' or that she was too young to understand the ways of war. They would not accept that it had been Maleficent who had saved her.

For days she barely slept and barely ate. Every time she fell asleep she was tormented with dreams of the men bringing Maleficent's body back to the castle. Sometimes it was unscathed, so that the faery appeared only to be sleeping. The only difference was that when Aurora cried and begged for her to wake up Maleficent would not respond. Other times they brought her back in pieces. A man would bring in her wings, still fluttering grotesquely as they had been in her father's cabinet when she had first found them. He would present them to her like trophies and then he would turn and behind him was another man, this time bearing her head.

In a way she was glad that the fighting continued. Every time the men came back, shouting that they needed more more arrows, or spears, or axes she knew that Maleficent was alive. And she knew that Maleficent was doing what she asked. It was driving them mad. Over and over again the men of the counsel shouted furiously about why the 'witch' was not fighting. Some of them thought it was a trick – a terrible trap. Others thought her a coward. Aurora had argued furiously against both to little avail. She had tried to explain that Maleficent was doing as she had asked, but the men just smiled and suggested that 'her highness was tired'.

As the days had dragged by the reports had gotten worse. The men coming in from the field reported that 'the witch' was clearly injured or exhausted. Whilst they had not yet broken through the wall they were slowly getting further and further each time before 'the witch' managed to repair the damage. Aurora was terrified.

Eventually, Lord Rupert, a sallow man who always looked at Aurora in a way that reminded her of a cat eying a mouse, came striding into the small hall to report that he had seen a spear hit 'the witch' hard and that she had not been seen since. It had been all that she could do to choke down the scream and stifle her cries before the men could see them. She clutched the arm of her chair so hard that her knuckles ached and bit the inside of her lip until she could no longer stand the pain. While the man nattered on about the possibility of 'the witch' being dead, Aurora steeled herself.

Maleficent needed her. She had told her that she was the one person who had any hope of ending this war and saving the moors. Whether or not Maleficent was alive, everything came down to Aurora managing to convince the counsellors to stop the fighting.

Slowly she drew herself up in her chair. Although she was seated at the centre of the long table, none of the men were looking at her. They were all too busy focusing on their heated debate. She imagined Maleficent. How she would raise her chin and look around the room as though the men were hardly worth her time. How when she spoke, she did not allow for the possibility that others would not listen. How she could dismiss someone with a simple rise of an eyebrow.

Aurora took several deep breaths. Her heart was pounding so fast that she could hear it.

"Enough." By some miracle her voice didn't shake. It cut through the gruff voices of the men and echoed around the hall. One by one they all fell silently. They turned to face her expectantly, "Maleficent is not dead-"

At once Lord Rupert began to argue. The spear had hit her stomach, she had gone down, she had not been seen since. The same arguments he had been using for the past hour. Aurora raised her chin and started at him. When he finally paused for breath mid-tirade she jumped at her chance to speak.

"So you mean to tell me that despite my having grown up in the moors, with Maleficent, you know her better than me?" Aurora felt as though she was going to throw up.

His dense eyebrows pulled together for a moment. "With all due respect, princess, I do not expect you to understand-"

"I am not a child, Lord Rupert. I am your future queen."

He fixed her with a stare that was no doubt supposed to scare her. Aurora almost laughed. She had spent the past year with Maleficent. If she could endure her glares, then she could certainly endure this mans.

"My apologies, your highness, but…"

"Thank you. But with all due respect, my lord, I do not expect _you _to understand Maleficent."

"The witch can be killed with iron…."

"I have told you not to refer to her as a witch. I shall have you remember that."

_I will be their queen. I will be their queen. I will be their queen. _

For a moment his face contorted, as though trying desperately to contain his anger. Aurora imagined how Maleficent would raise her chin and flick her eyebrow at the man and tried desperately to do the same. She hoped that it didn't look as ridiculous as she felt.

"As you wish." Lord Rupert said eventually with a small reluctant incline of the head. "But nevertheless iron-"

"Irritates her, yes, but little more" Aurora lied. "Do not believe everything my father told you. His mind was twisted by hatred,"

"King Stefan won a great victory by removing the creature's wings." The voice came from somewhere down the table. Aurora glared in the general direction.

"He drugged a woman who trusted him, and mutilated her whilst she slept. If that is a victory, then I pray that I am never victorious. Maleficent has saved my life many times. Even now, when you threaten her home she has not harmed you."

"Tricks. No doubt she is planning some sorcery."

"She is giving me time to find a diplomatic solution,"

"What would a creature such as she know of diplomacy!" Lord Rupert sneered.

"All that she wants is to be left in peace. If you continue to provoke her she will be forced to fight back to protect her people."

"If we do leave her in peace, then what? We just allow the creature who killed King Henry and King Stefan, and who cursed our princess to live! How long until she comes back for more blood."

"She will not harm me. I have tod you this a dozen times, but you refuse to listen."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"We try diplomacy. We invite her here, under the banner of peace with the assurance that no one shall harm her. That way she can explain the truth to you, and we can begin to work out a peace treaty between us and the moors…"

Lord Rupert slammed his fist down on the table. "Your fathers dedicated his life to fighting that creature and her moors!"

"And it drove him mad. I know who my father was." Just thinking about him made Aurora want to cry. He was the man who gave her life, and yet he had been the cause of so much pain.

"She will kill us all."

"She won't. All she wants is peace. It was my father she wanted revenge on and he is dead."

"I think the princess has a point." Aurora looked around hopefully. Lord Thomas was the only member of the counsel who had shown her any form of kindness so far. He had actually listened to her when the others just scoffed.

At once half a dozen men leapt in to argue.

"I will be heard!" Lord Thomas bellowed. "We cannot afford to anger this Maleficent. We can't begin to guess the extent of her powers. She has not attacked our men, despite being gravelly injured. If she was planning a trap she would have used it by now. And what are the moors to us?"

"So you would allow the creature who killed our king and cursed our princess to live?"

"If anyone has a right to revenge it is the princess. Is that what you wish, princess?"

"No. I have seen what revenge can do. Maleficent is my friend, my godmother. I want us to live in peace with her."

"Surely it would not hurt to negotiate, gentleman? After all, should she decide to attack there is little any of us can do. It is our duty to prevent further bloodshed. I vote that we call in the men."

They argued for a few minutes, but eventually they agreed, most of them with obvious reluctance. It was decided that Maleficent would be called to court tomorrow and in the meantime the army would withdraw. Lord Rupert declared them all fools and snarled at Aurora that she had 'doomed their kingdom' before striding off. Lord Thomas paused by her chair and put a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"I hope you know what you're doing, princess."

"I do," she replied, confidently. "Thank you for helping me."

He smiled at her. It was the first real smile she had seen in days. "My pleasure, my lady."

Aurora left the room feeling strangely lightheaded. Her throat was dry and her heart still thumped painfully against her ribs. She would not consider the fact that Lord Rupert was right and Maleficent was already dead. It couldn't be true. Not after she had finally achieved what Maleficent had wanted of her.

"Princess Aurora!"

Aurora spun round. Phillip was striding towards her, smiling nervously.

"May we talk?"

"Of course," Her heart seemed to quicken its beat, and suddenly her stomach felt as though she had swallowed another mouthful of spiders.

"In private?"

Aurora hesitated and then said "The gardens are beautiful. Would you care to see them,"

"Allow me to escort you," He held out his arm and Aurora slipped her hand over her elbow, feeling a strange thrill. They didn't speak as they crossed the entrance hall and slipped down the stone steps. The gardens were small and surrounded by stone walls, but they were the only greenery to be found. Aurora hated how neat they were, as though someone spent hours trying to tame it every day. They wandered over to a stone bench and sat down.

"I've wanted to talk to you for a while, actually."

"Really?" Aurora smiled.

"I wanted to apologise."

"For what?"

"While you were asleep I…" he looked at her nervously, cheeks flushing. "I kissed you. The pixies told me that you were cursed, and that if I kissed you, you would wake up," He smiled bashfully. "Ridiculous, I know…"

"It worked." Aurora said. Phillip looked up in surprise. "My godmother was there. She said I woke up after you kissed me. It just took a little while to work."

"Oh." Phillip flushed an even deeper shade of scarlet. "Oh."

"Thank you. For saving me."

"It was my pleasure." He replied. Then his face fell. "Not that-I didn't mean-It was pleasant, kissing you, I mean. But you were asleep, and-"

Aurora laughed. "I understand."

"Perhaps we could see each other again? I would be delighted to get to know you better."

Aurora smiled, and the sensation of spiders crawling around her stomach increased. "So would I."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note: I am currently editing chapters 1-4, as I'm not happy with them. The next chapter will be out as soon as possible. _  
**

**_Currently_****_ edited Chapter(s) 1._**

* * *

They left the castle shortly after dawn. Their party was composed of 40 men on horseback , some wearing armour and carrying spears, others dressed in rich velvets and silks. Aurora rode at the head of them, sitting stiffly on the horse in the strange gown they had made her to wear, clutching desperately at the reins. Apparently it was 'unladylike' to ride astride the horse, and so she was forced to sit side-saddle and struggle desperately not to fall off. As if she didn't have enough to think about.

She was worried. She had gone to the castle to try and protect Maleficent, and now she was bringing 40 heavily armed men to her, with nothing but the blind hope that they would honour the banner of peace they carried. Perhaps she was as naïve as they thought her to be.

She had wanted to go alone. She had dared to suggested it once, but they had protested vehemently. They were not about to let their newly rescued princess go galloping back to the moors on her own. After that she had tried to argue that that they only need take a small group of men – half a dozen at most. They had agreed that they need only take a few men….and then summoned two dozen guards to escort all 16 counsellors and herself. She had not bothered to argue with them. They wouldn't listen. But that was before she had seen them. All of the guards were dressed in heavy iron armour, and carried and abundance of iron weapons. Evidently they were prepared to fight. When she had reminded them that they were going to Maleficent under the banner of peace, they had insisted that it was 'just in case'.

Aurora had no choice but to agree. As she rode out of the castle, with 40 men trailing behind her, armed with the weapons that could cause her godmother so much pain, she could not help but feel the unpleasant sensation of guilt twisting in her stomach. Maleficent had insisted that men were not to be trusted. What if she was right? What if the white flag they bore was nothing but a ruse? For all she knew they could be planning to attack as soon as Maleficent came into sight. Was she then nothing but bait?

She pushed the unpleasant thoughts aside. This would work. It had to work. She needed to forge peace between her kingdom and the moors. That was the only way. If it came to it and they did decide to attack her, then Aurora would just have to hope that Maleficent was strong enough to defend herself. The alternative didn't bear thinking about.

They arrived at the edge of the moors a few hours before noon. As they approached the wall of thorns, many of the horses began to tug on their reins, trying to shy away from the malevolent structure. Aurora couldn't blame them. She hated the wall. Just being near it made her skin prickle unpleasantly. She gripped the reins tightly in her gloved hands and urged her protesting mare forward.

When she sat in front of the wall she hesitated, unsure. Usually Maleficent who found her, unbidden. It had seemed that she had need only go near the wall before Maleficent would be there, moving them aside to allow Aurora to pass. Now Maleficent was nowhere to be seen.

Feeling incredibly foolish, Aurora called out as loud as she could. "Maleficent!"

The wall seemed to swallow her voice. She wondered whether she should wait, or continue to call. It felt absurd, calling to someone who was no doubt far beyond earshot. Still, Maleficent had never failed to come when she needed her before.

"Godmother!"

"How long will we need to wait on the witch?" Lord Rupert asked, urging his horse forward so that he sat beside her. Aurora did not bother to correct him. She had grown tired of trying to convince them that Maleficent was not a witch – no matter how many times she asked, demanded or ordered, they quickly returned to that form of address.

"As long as she takes," Aurora answered.

"What if she doesn't hear?"

"She will." Aurora had to believe that. The idea that Maleficent would not come was too terrible for her to contemplate. The memory of the previous evening was clear in her mind.

_Hit with a spear. Badly wounded…most likely dead. _

She would not believe it.

"Godmother!" she called again. Even to her own ears, her voice sounded frail.

Five minutes passed. Then another five. Behind her she could hear the men muttering to themselves, and every minute or so Lord Rupert would give a heavy, pointed sigh. She ignored them all. When 15 minutes had past, they began to argue. Some of them wanted to return to the castle. Others wanted to wait a little longer. Aurora did not pay attention to them. She would not leave. Now that she was so close to the moors, she could not go without knowing whether or not Maleficent was safe.

Another few minutes passed, torturously slow. More of the men were beginning to agree with returning. Whenever they tried to speak to her she just shook her head stubbornly, too focused to listen to them. Eventually, when she had started to give up hope, she heard something. At first she wasn't certain, but as the sound grew nearer, she recognised it. The steady beat of wings. Only one creature in the moors had wings strong enough to create that sound. She had never felt so relieved in her life.

"She's coming." Aurora pulled on the reins, forcing her horse to turn to face the assembled men. She thought it was better to warn them than to have them panic the moment Maleficent came into view. "Remember than we are under the banner of peace. No one is to harm her."

Again they tried to speak to her, but she didn't listen. She was craning her neck, looking at the empty sky, waiting.

A few seconds later she appeared. Maleficent swooped over the top of the wall, powerful wings buffeting the air, diving down to the earth. Aurora dug her heels into the horses flank, urging it onwards, tracing the path of Maleficent's descent. She landed a little way behind the men, wings folding back against her. Perhaps she was mistaken, but Aurora thought that she saw Maleficent stumble slightly upon landing. It happened so quickly, and before she could be certain of what she saw, Maleficent had steadied herself with her staff.

_That's odd. _Aurora thought. She had not seen Maleficent use her staff since the return of her wings. As she approached, forcing the lines of men to part for her, she looked closely at Maleficent. There's was nothing obvious, but Aurora knew her godmother well enough to know that something was wrong. She did not merely hold her staff, but leant on it, as though using it to support her weight. She was also paler than usual, and her eyes seemed distinctly weary. In a moment Aurora had unhooked her legs from her saddle and was sliding to the ground.

"My lady, wait!" called one of the men from behind her.

Aurora ignored him. She gathered her heavy skirts up in her hands and ran across the remaining distance between her and her godmother. She had intended to stop in front of her, but instead found herself flinging herself at the faery, burying her head against her chest and wrapping her arms tight around her. Maleficent gave a small grunt of pain, and her body stiffened momentarily before relaxing again. Awkwardly she put a hand on the small of Aurora back.

"They said you were dead," Aurora whispered. She could feel the tears she had spent the past three days fighting against begin to slide down her cheek. She bit her lip hard.

"Not quite," Maleficent replied. She put a hand on Aurora's shoulder and gently pushed her back. When she saw the tears she frowned. "Don't let them see you cry."

She cupped Aurora's chin in her hand and run the pad of her thumb along her cheek, wiping away the tears. At the gentle, intimate touch Aurora found herself crying all the harder.

"You're hurt, though?" Aurora insisted "I can see it."

"Hush," Maleficent said quickly. Her eyes darted over Aurora's shoulder, to the men who were no doubt watching disapprovingly. "It is nothing that won't heal. Now get yourself under control."

Aurora nodded. While she wiped her face and tried to take calming breaths, Maleficent spoke to the men behind her. The tenderness that was there when she spoke to Aurora was gone and instead her voice was pure metal, cold and commanding.

"Well, well. Quite the welcome party. Have you come to shoot more arrows at me?"

"We come in peace," Aurora recognised the voice of Lord James, the head of the counsel.

"Really?" Maleficent replied, in a tone that suggested she didn't believe it for a second. "I must say, I really was quite impressed with your determination. I would have thought that after 16 years of trying and failing to take the moors you would have given up by now."

It was Lord Rupert who replied, his voice an angry snarl. "Not until we have your head, witch!"

"What a charming man," Maleficent muttered to her.

"Lord Rupert," Aurora replied "He doesn't like you,"

"So I noticed." Maleficent raised her voice. "Your idea of peace seems rather different to mine."

"You will not be harmed," replied Lord James. "Princess, come back."

Aurora wanted to argue, but before she could do more than open her mouth, Maleficent had put a hand on her shoulder. "Go," she said softly. "They want to make sure I cannot use you as a shield."

Aurora hesitated and then did as she was asked. Lord Thomas rode forward, holding the reins of her horse and when she approached he dismounted to help her up into the saddle. She hated it. Sitting there, looking down on Maleficent, with so many men behind her. It felt as though she was siding against her.

"Why have you called me here?" Maleficent asked.

"This meeting is at the princess' request."

Maleficent raised her eyebrow slightly and looked at Aurora "Is it now?" She said slowly. "Am I to assume it was the princess who ordered your army to withdraw?"

"Yes," Aurora replied "Although I wish I had been able to do it sooner,"

"I am surprised you managed to do it at all. These _fine _gentlemen seem rather too eager for my death to allow their army just to withdraw."

"We want justice,"

Maleficent smiled. "Do not speak to me of justice. It is clear to me that men know very little about it."

"Says the witch who cursed a baby," Lord Rupert sneered.

Maleficent's eyes flicked briefly to Aurora. "A mistake," She said shortly.

"One which nearly resulted in her death-"

"Enough," interrupted Aurora. "This is not the place. "

"As you say, Princess. You will return with us, witch, to answer for you crimes."

Maleficent began to laugh, brilliant white teeth gleaming behind scarlet lips. Aurora gritted her own teeth in frustration. "You dare to command me?" Maleficent asked, mirth still ringing in her voice.

"Please," Aurora said softly. She urged her horse forward several steps. She wanted desperately to slip from the saddle and talk privately with Maleficent again, to make her understand without Lord Rupert's blunt 'diplomacy'. "I don't want us to have to fight any more. I want peace. But before that can happen we need to talk. It's the only way."

"You want me to return to the castle so we can talk?"

Aurora nodded. "Please, Maleficent."

"Why should I believe that it is not another trap? That the minute I step through the doors they won't drop another net on me and stab me with iron…"

"I won't let them," Aurora replied, trying to sound surer than she felt. Maleficent just raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her. "We have to try!"

"No."

Aurora felt tears prickling her eyes again. This had to work. It was the only way. "Please, Maleficent. Trust me."

"I trust you, Aurora. But I do not trust them."

Aurora gave her a pleading look, too close to tears to speak. Maleficent shook her head.

"Do not ask me to step back into that cage. I did it once to save you. I won't do it again."

She heard the sound of hoof beats and turned to see Lord Thomas ride up beside her. Maleficent eyed him suspiciously.

"My lady." Lord Thomas bowed his head respectfully. The suspicion in Maleficent's eyes changed to confusion. "I understand your hesitation. But we mean you no harm."

Maleficent fixed him with a cold stare. "I've heard something similar from the lips of a man before. He left me mutilated and in agony. For that 'heroism' you put a crown on his head."

"That man is dead," replied Lord Thomas "Some of us what peace as much as the princess does."

"Maleficent, please. You told me that I could unite our kingdoms. I don't know how else to do it."

Maleficent said nothing. Although her face was blank, Aurora knew that she was thinking hard. Eventually she said softly "Diaval said something to me a few days ago. He said that you had given me my wings. It was time that I gave you yours."

"I don't understand-"

"If you wish me to go with you, I shall."

"Please. I don't know what else to do-"

"I need to speak with the border guard. I shall be back in a moment."

Aurora nodded and with a thrust of her powerful wings, Maleficent took to the air.

"Has the witch fled, then?" Lord Rupert asked, as Maleficent disappeared over the wall. Aurora wheeled her horse round to face him.

"She shall return to the castle with us. She just needs to attend to a few matters first."

"So we must wait on her yet again."

Aurora bit her tongue. There was no point arguing. Instead she looked at Lord Thomas, who was sat beside her and whispered "Thank you".

* * *

The border guard were angry. When Maleficent announced her plans to return to the castle with Aurora they gave a terrible roar and began to argue in their harsh, guttural language. They trusted the humans no more than she did.

"I have told you," she said when they had quieted enough to let her speak. "We are doing this Aurora's way. She thinks it best I return with her, and so I shall. I just need you to guard the wall until I return."

She did not give them time to argue. She turned away from them and began to walk back down the dirt path, to the tree where Diaval perched, waiting.

"Into a man."

Diaval jumped from the tree and landed on his feet beside her. "You're not well enough for this."

"I'm fine."

"You're still healing."

"I said I'm fine."

Diaval gave her a disbelieving look but said no more.

"You will come with me. I need another pair of eyes."

"Someone has to stop you from getting yourself killed," he grinned

She waved him away and he took to the air, wings carrying him up over the wall. A moment later she followed.

Everything hurt. With every beat her wings strained agonisingly on her shoulders. Having spent the past three days almost constantly in the air had not done the healing process any good. Ideally she would have had a few days to rest them and allow her body the time it desperately needed to heal. But time had never been on her side. Now she had to go to the home of the humans, whilst her body was still healing from its many wounds. Whilst the skin had closed up, and the worst it had healed, she still felt pain every time she moved. Should the humans have some treachery planned (which was more likely than she would have liked to admit) then it would take a miracle to get her out of there alive. The best she could hope for was that they had not noticed her weakness. If they believed she was at full strength, then with luck their fear of her would keep them in check.

Aurora was waiting for her, with Diaval sitting on her outstretched arm. She seemed inordinately pleased to see him.

"Will you fly?" asked Aurora when she had landed.

Maleficent glanced back at the large group of men, all of whom were eying her suspiciously. The joints of her wings gave a twinge of pain at the thought of taking flight again.

"I will ride with you."

"Oh. We didn't think to bring a horse for you. You could ride with me?"

Maleficent felt the corner of her lips twist into a smile. "I doubt your men will think that appropriate. I can provide my own horse. Come, Diaval."

The raven merely gave an indignant caw and shuffled along Aurora's arm. Maleficent raised her eyebrow at him, waiting. A moment later he reluctantly soared from the girls arm to the floor and with a dismissive flick of Maleficent's fingers, the small body began to grow, until a large stallion stood before her. Aurora gave a laugh of delight. Several of the men gave shouts, cursing and muttering under their breath. Men tended not to like such obvious displays of magic.

Diaval took a minute to settle. He did not like the horse form. Four legs, that worked vastly different from those of a crow or a human, were more than he could bear.. He danced around, snorting in complaint and tossing his head vigorously. Maleficent just waited for him to settle. It was better to let him do this now than when she was on his back.

"That's cruel, godmother," Aurora admonished, although she could not keep the amusement from her voice.

"He'll get used to it," Maleficent replied. Eventually Diaval settled and she could ease herself carefully on his back. It was harder than she would have liked to admit, and as she sat she could barely keep the hiss of pain from escaping her lips. The journey would not be easy, and it certainly would not be pleasant.

Thankfully she had Aurora to distract her. They rode a little way ahead of the party, close together so that they could talk. Aurora told her of the past few days, and everything she knew of the counsel. The more she spoke, the more it became apparent that the child had swiftly changed into a woman. No one could have lived through the past week and not matured vastly and Aurora was no exception. Maleficent just hoped that this new found maturity had not come at too high a cost.

When Aurora tried to ask about the battle Maleficent shook her head. She did not dare say anything that could be overheard by the men behind them. Eventually, when the girl continued to pester her, Maleficent just said 'the wall defends itself' and refused to say any more.

When they had been riding for an hour a horse came up beside them. It was the man who had spoken to her earlier. Aurora greeted him with a friendly smile and a dip of the head.

"This is Lord Thomas, godmother."

Maleficent looked hard at him. According to Aurora, Thomas was the one man on the counsel who had shown her any form of friendship and seemed to sympathise with her cause. Maleficent didn't trust him.

"My apologies for interrupting, my lady. Some of the men don't like you talking with lady Maleficent by yourself. I thought it best that I ride with you."

"Thank you, my lord," Aurora replied with a frown. She looked troubled.

"Fools," Maleficent said softly.

The time passed slowly. Although Lord Thomas did his best to distance himself from them whilst riding alongside them, she and Aurora spoke very little and when they did it was only on unimportant topics. It was shortly after noon when they arrived at the towering city. The closer they came to it, the greater Maleficent's anxiety grew. The first time she had come to this accursed place she had been spurred on by revenge, barely able to feel anything but hatred and anger. The second time Aurora had been in danger. There was nothing that could have stopped her from going to her side. But now, without anger or desperation to motivate her, there was only fear. Fear did not motivate, it paralysed. Only by focusing entirely on the presence of Aurora could she stop herself from wheeling Diaval around and galloping back to the safety of the moors.

When they at last came to the towering gate that guarded the entrance to the city, Maleficent could contain herself no longer.

"Stop." Diaval halted at once. Aurora turned in her saddle to look at her. Behind her, the din of hooves on the stones came to an abrupt stop. Maleficent ignored them all.

The walls of the city towered above her. Rough, unnatural stone that blotted out the sunlight and stopped the winds. Iron gates and an iron portcullis with jagged teeth. And beyond this it would only get worse. More stone and iron. Roofs that threatened to crush, walls that caged and the very air you breathed was stagnant and dead. No trees. No plants. No light. No life. And of course the iron. How much of it did they have stored away just waiting for her. All too vividly she remembered the terror and agony of the iron net. The humiliation of being helpless as a dozen men jabbed at her with spears, laughing.

"Godmother?" Aurora asked softly. She had turned her horse and ridden up beside her. Maleficent just looked blankly at her, fighting desperately to keep her face emotionless. If she showed them fear they would kill her. If for a second they thought that she was weak they would not hesitate to seize the opportunity and strike. Still she could not make herself continue.

"I can't," she whispered to Aurora. "I won't."

She imagined riding up the castle, to find men with iron waiting for her. She imagined them stabbing at her and burning her, until her powers were drained and she was once again helpless beneath the terrible iron of men. And the worse fear, that once she was helpless they would not kill her, but burn the wings from her shoulders once again and lock her in this terrible place, somewhere in the bowels of the city, to suffocate in the prison of iron and stone.

She saw Aurora glance nervously at the gathered men. Surely by now she knew just how dangerous any sign of weakness was to them.

"We can't go back now," said Aurora quietly, leaning as close to Maleficent as she could.

"I know that. What if this is a trap?"

"It's not…"

"You can guarantee that? You can promise me, without a single doubt, that the moment I get inside those walls they will not take my wings?"

Aurora hesitated. The she raised her chin and said with a voice filled with forced confidence. "I won't let them."

"Do not make the mistake of thinking you control them Aurora. They will obey you when it suits them, and disobey when it doesn't."

"Is there a problem, my lady?" called one of the men.

"No. We shall be continuing shortly." Aurora replied. Then to Maleficent she said. "Please, godmother. You have to trust me."

"I trust you."

"We can't turn back."

"I know that." Maleficent spurred Diaval on. There was no turning back now "Come on."


End file.
